V.:- 


PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^f^ 


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Presented    hy'CC  . ^5  .(7\x~'^v  O  v  O ,  ^S^v^x ■ 


I 


BV   4905    .E5    1868 

Eliot,  William  Greenleaf, 

1811-1887. 
Discipline  of  sorrow 


DISCIPLINE  OF  SORROW. 


BY 


WILLIAM    G.    ELIOT, 

SENIOR   PASTOR  OF   THE   CHURCH   OF   THE   MESSIAH. 


They  who  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy. 


FIFTH   EDITION. 


BOSTON: 

AMERICAN  UNITARIAN  ASSOCIATION. 
1868. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  tne  year  1856,  b. 

HENRY    A.   MILES, 

In  tlie  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  tbe  Dist.  of  Massachusetts. 


z)  c^^^  ^jz:^.i/.-*l<j  - 


THE  DlSCIPirNE  OF  soiino^y. 


"  Toil,  trial,  and  suffering,  still  await  us,  and  the 
experience  of  every  day  teaches  that  we  are  not  suffi- 
cient to  our*)3r-«.' 

"  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  are  weary  and  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rebt." 


So 

THE   FAMILIES 

AMONG  -WHOM  I  HAVE  LIVED  FOB   MORE   THAN  TWENTT  TEARS 

WHOSE   SORROWS    ARE   MINE,  AND   WHOSE    HEARTS 

ANSWER    TO    MY    OWN    IN    THE   AFFECTIONATE 

REMEMBRANCE    OF    OCR   DEAD, 

CTftts  JLittle  3Soofe 

IS    RESPECTFULLY   DEDICATED   BY   THEIR   FRIEND 

W.  G.  E. 
1* 


CONTENTS. 


PAOB. 

I.  Preparation 11 

II.  Triai,, 83 

III.  Weakness  and  Strength, 67 

TV.  Compensations, 77 


f  repratton* 


A  spirit  still  proparea. 

And  armed  with  jealous  care. 
Forever  standing  on  its  guard, 

And  watching  unLo  prayer. 

Let  him  remember  the  days  of  darkness ;  for  they 
shall  be  many. 


O  Lord,  our  Heavenly  Father,  who  hast  safely 
brought  us  to  the  beginning  of  this  day,  defend  us  in 
the  same  with  thy  great  power,  and  prant  that  this 
day  we  may  not  fall  into  any  sm,  neither  run  into  any 
danger  ;  but  that  all  our  doings,  being  ordered  by  thy 
governance,  may  be  righteous  in  thy  sight,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


I  AM  almost  tempted  to  hope  that  these 
pages  will  be  read  by  none  except  those  who 
have  already  learned,  under  the  Discipline  of 
Sorrow,  that  familiar  truths  bring  the  most 
effectual  consolation.  I  have  aimed  at  no  orig- 
inality of  thought  or  novelty  of  expression,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  have  sought  to  express  the  feel- 
ings which  are  common  to  all  who  mourn,  in 
words  which  have  become,  through  frequent  use, 
the  peculiar  language  of  sorrow.  To  those  who 
have  felt  only  the  lighter  afflictions  of  life,  the 
consolations  here  offered  will  seem  trite  and 
insufficient.  But  I  humbly  hope  that  those 
upon  whom  the  heavier  burden  has  been  laid, 


Vin  ADVERTISEMENT. 

and  who  do  not  seek  diversion  from  grief,  but 
the  power  of  Christian  endurance,  will  recog- 
nize in  these  common  words  their  own  individ- 
ual experience,  and  perhaps  be  assisted  in  find- 
ing the  strength  which  thej  individually  need. 

St.  Louis,  Mo.,  May  11,  1855. 


PREPARATION. 


We  are  not  unmindful  of  the  blessings 
which  Grod  bestows;  nor  do  we  complain 
of  the  trials  of  life,  as  if  they  were  too 
severe.  Yet  we  cannot  help  feeling  that 
life  is  oftentimes  a  discipline  of  sorrow. 
The  Scripture  gives  only  the  needful 
warning  when  it  teaches  us  to  remember 
the  days  of  darkness,  for  they  shall  be 
many.  We  need  to  remember  them,  and 
to  be  daily  prepared  for  them ;  for  they 
will  surely  come,  the  sad  days  of  adver- 
sity, suffering,  and  bereavement.  The 
common  lot  belongs  to  our  common 
humanity  ;    and  when  we   feel  most  se- 


14  PREPARATION. 

cure  misfortune  may  be  nearest  —  when 
we  account  ourselves  strongest  we  may 
be  leaning  upon  a  broken  reed.  At  the 
point  where  we  think  no  defence  required 
sorrow  may  gain  entrance,  and  find  us 
unprepared. 

If  it  were  a  question  only  of  prudence 
and  wisdom,  it  would  be  different.  Then, 
by  directing  our  attention  more  closely  to 
the  defences  and  safeguards  of  life,  we 
might  hope  to  escape.  But,  although  we 
may  thus  avoid  many  troubles,  and  greatly 
lessen  the  amount  of  trial,  there  are  still 
exposures  against  which  human  wisdom 
cannot  guard  ;  there  are  misfortunes  which 
baffle  all  human  foresight ;  there  are 
griefs  directly  of  God's  sending,  and  no 
man  has  yet. lived  who  has  not  had  reason 
to  say  that  the  days  of  darkness  are 
many. 


PREPARATION.  15 

We  should  therefore  be  prepared  for 
them  ;  and,  as  we  retreat  to  the  cheerful 
fireside  when  the  storms  of  winter  are 
around  us,  so  should  we,  with  equal  fore- 
sight, and  in  preparation  for  a  greater 
need,  provide  inward  stores  of  light  and 
heat,  of  pleasant  thoughts  and  memories, 
of  pure  affections,  of  chiMlike  faith,  of 
undying  hope,  of  resignation  and  forti- 
tude, of  energy  to  do,  and  resolution  to 
endure,  whatever  may  be  appointed  as  our 
part  in  life. 

With  this  view,  we  would  look  to  some 
of  the  sources  of  comfort  from  which  the 
soul  derives  light  in  the  days  of  darkness. 
We  shall  best  know  the  preparation  to  be 
made  when  we  have  learned,  from  our 
own  experience,  or  that  of  others,  what 
are  the  consolations  which  give  permanent 
and  effectual  strength.     In  the  times  of 


16  PREPARATION. 

trouble  a  great  deal  of  miserable  comfort 
is  given,  and  they  who  do  not  understand 
the  depths  of  sorrow  to  which  the  heart 
may  go  down  increase  its  suffering  by 
their  efforts  to  console. 

There  are  chiefly  three  sources  from 
which  effectual  and  increasing  comfort  is 
derived,  and  which  become  more  abun- 
dant, and  impart  more  perfect  peace,  in 
proportion  to  the  greatness  of  calamity 
under  which  we  suffer.  First,  a  clear  con- 
science ;  secondly,  the  Christian  faith  ; 
thirdly,  the  accustomed  performance  of 
duty. 

First,  a  clear  conscience  —  a  conscience 
void  of  offence  towards  God  and  towards 
man.  We  speak,  of  course,  in  a  human 
sense,  and  not  of  that  absolute  perfection 
which  none  of  us  attain,  and  for  which  it 
is  almost  aiTogant  to  hope.     We  mean  a 


PREPARATION.  17 

life  well  spent,  and  the  feeling  of  self- 
respect  before  men,  and  of  humble,  con- 
fiding hope  before  God,  to  which,  by  such 
a  life,  we  are  entitled.  It  gives  the  con- 
sciousness of  inward  strength,  and  a 
steadfastness  of  heart  which  nothing  else 
can  bestow.  It  enables  us  to  feel  that  the 
calamity  has  come  as  discipline,  and  not 
as  punishment.  It  arms  us  against  the 
sting  of  misfortune,  and  assures  us  that, 
though  cast  down,  we  cannot  be  destroyed. 
But,  in  proportion  as  we  remember  wrong 
'in  our  lives,  we  are  weakened  under  the 
burden  of  sorrow.  In  proportion  as  we 
feel  that  we  have  not  deserved  God's 
blessings,  their  withdrawal  causes  addi- 
tional pain.  We  may  not  accuse  our- 
selves of  fault  in  the  particular  case,  yet, 
if  we  are  conscious  of  general  unfaithful- 
ness, that  our  talents  have  been  wasted 

2* 


18  PREPARATIC>N. 

that  our  time  has  been  miospent,  that 
worldly  cares  have  been  our  principal 
care,  that  God  has  been  absent  from  our 
thoughts,  and  his  blessings  enjoyed  with- 
out thanksgiving  or  prayer,  then  the 
weight  of  adversity  becomes  heavier,  and 
the  soul  sinks  undei*  it  almost  with  the 
feeling  of  despair.  Still  more,  if  the 
memory  of  specific  guilt  is  awakened, 
with  feelings  of  shame  or  of  self-con- 
tempt, the  afflictions  under  which  we 
labor  will  seem  doubly  great ;  and  al- 
though there  may  be  no  connection  be- 
tween the  wrong  done  and  the  suffering 
endured,  we  can  scarcely  help  interpret- 
ing the  one  as  the  deserved  punishment 
of  the  other.  The  heart  is  thus  deprived 
of  its  natural  strength,  and  troubled 
thoughts,  come  to  interfere  with  its  conso- 
lations. 


PREPARATION.  19 

The  commission  of  sin  is  a  wrong  done 
to  the  soul,  far  beyond  our  conception  at 
the  time  when  committed.  It  puts  us  on 
a  lower  grade  of  existence  ;  it  subjects 
us  to  lower  influences  ;  it  spoils  the  se- 
renity of  our  temper  ;  it  makes  us  de- 
pendent upon  outward  circumstances  for 
inward,  peace  ;  it  separates  us  from  God, 
and  the  dear  communion  of  his  Spirit ;  it 
estranges  us  from  Jesus  Christ,  and  from 
all  sympathy  with  the  pure  and  good  ; 
and  altogether  it  makes  us  incompetent  to 
understand  the  dealings  of  God  toward  us, 
either  in  his  mercies  or  his  chastisements. 
Every  sin  committed  makes  it  more  diffi- 
cult to  trust  in  God,  or  resign  ourselves  to 
his  will.  It  changes  the  expression  of 
his  face  from  love  to  anger,  because  it 
disturbs  the  atmosphere  of  our  thoughts 
and  feelings  through  which  he  is  seen. 


20  PREPARATION. 

But  the  pure  in  heart  see  God  as  he  is 
In  the  enjoyment  of  his  blessings  they  re- 
joice in  his  love  ;  and  when  the  days  of 
darkness  come,  the  light  which  shines 
from  heaven  is  only  the  more  beautiful 
because  of  the  gloom  which  rests  upon 
the  earth. 

This  is  therefore  the  first  couusel  to 
those  who  would  be  prepared  for  the 
severe  trials  of  life.  Avoid  sin  ;  shun 
every  wrong  action  ;  stoop  to  no  mean- 
ness ;  yield  to  no  bad  passion  ;  indulge 
no  sinful  appetite  ;  for  every  such  devia- 
tion from  right,  though  long  forgotten,  is 
recorded  in  the  secret  chambers  of  the 
memory,  to  be  read,  whether  we  will  or 
no,  when  the  days  of  darkness  come. 
But  let  the  life  be  given  to  works  of 
usefulness,  and  let  the  laws  of  Christian 
morality  bp  carefully  observed  ;  let  con- 


PREPARATION.  21 

tinual  effort  be  made  to  live  as  Jesus 
lived,  who  went  about  doing  good,  who 
did  no  sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  his 
mouth  ;  and,  although  we  cannot  thereby 
avoid  grief,  and  may  need  to  pray,  in 
agony  of  spirit,  as  Jesus  prayed,  that  the 
cup  of  sorrow  may  pass  from  us,  yet, 
having  the  consciousness  that  we  have 
labored  to  do  God's  will,  we  shall  still  be 
able  to  say,  as  Jesus  said,  "  Thy  will,  not 
ours,  be  done."  Sorrow,  when  unmin- 
gled  with  remorse,  may  bruise,  but  it 
cannot  break  the  heart ;  and  the  smoking 
flax  will  not  be  quenched. 

The  second  preparation  for  the  days  of 
darkness  is  Christian  faith.  We  speak  of 
it  as  a  preparation,  because,  if  we  wait  to 
seek  for  it  until  the  darkness  has  already 
come,  we  are  like  those  who  were  com 
pelled  to  go  and  buy  oil  for  their  lamps, 


22  PREPARATION. 

when  their  lamps  were  already  needed  tc 
be  bright  and  burning.  Religion  must  be 
familiar  to  our  minds,  "the  channel  into 
which  our  thoughts  naturally  turn,  or  it 
will  be  an  imperfect  source  of  comfort  to 
the  stricken  soul.  If  we  have,  then,  to 
argue  against  objections,  and  persuade 
ourselves  of  the  truth,  when  the  mind 
needs  repose,  and  the  heart  is  waiting  for 
the  word  of  divine  compassion,  "  peace, 
be  still,"  our  condition,  though  not  hope- 
less, must  be  very  sad.  Adversity  often 
has  the  effect  of  awakening  men  to  the 
necessity  of  religious  faith  ;  but  the  case 
of  those  is  far  better  who  have  understood 
the  necessity  before  the  trial  comes.  They 
are  like  men  who  sleep  in  their  armor, 
and  who,  at  the  first  moment  of  alarm, 
are  ready  for  the  conflict.  They  may  be 
suddenly  surprised  in  the  midst  of  perfect 


PREPARATION.  23 

security,  and  aroused  from  the  pleasant 
dreams  of  home  and  kindred  to  a  contest 
of  life  and  death.  But  their  first  con- 
scious thought  is  that  God  is  with  them, 
and  that  he  has  already  given  the  earnest 
of  victory.  "  When  we  lie  down  to  sleep 
thou  art  our  defence,  and  when  we  awake 
we  are  still  with  thee."  Such  is  the 
blessed  influence  of  Christian  faith  upon 
all  who  heartily  receive  it,  in  preparing 
them  for  the  severer  conflicts  of  life. 

We  are  not  speaking  of  disputed  ques- 
tions in  theology,  but  of  the  faith  which 
•>  in  common  to  all  those  who  sincerely 
believe  in  Christ.  It  is  to  believe  in  the 
parental  love  and  kind  providence  of  God. 
It  is  to  believe  that  while  we  were  yet 
sinners  Christ  died  for  us.  It  is  to  be- 
lieve that  earth  is  a  place  of  discipline, 
where  nut  only  joy,  but  sorrow,  is  a  proof 


24  PREPARATION. 

of  the  divine  goodness,  and  that  whom 
God  loveth  he  chasteneth.  It  is  to  hear 
the  heavenly  voice  of  Jesus,  "  Come  unto 
me,  all  ye  that  are  w^eary  and  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  It  is 
faith  in  immortality,  in  redemption,  and 
in  the  soul's  communion  with  God.  And, 
whatever  else  there  may  be  which  forms 
within  us  the  life  of  Christ,  and  brings  us 
near  to  the  infinite  God,  his  Father  and 
our  Father,  and  teaches  us  to  count  all 
things  but  loss  for  Christ's  sake,  while  we 
press  forward  towards  the  mark  for  the 
prize  of  our  high  calling,  this  is  what  we 
mean  by  the  Christian  faith.  It  is  the 
education  of  the  soul  in  spiritual  life  ;  the 
rising  above  the  world  while  we  live  in  it, 
so  that  the  clouds  which  cast  a  shadow 
upon  our  path  can  no  longer  obscure  the 
upward  vision.     Life  may  be   a  baptism 


PREPARATION.  26 

of  sorrow,  but  by  Christian  faith  we  are 
baptized  into  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  con- 
firms us  amidst  all  doubts  ;  it  allays  our 
fears  ;  it  speaks  of  pardon  to  the  sinner, 
and  of  a  blessing  upon  those  who  mourn. 
It  tells  us  of  the  departed,  that  they  are  not 
dead,  but  sleeping.  It  reveals  to  the  be- 
reaved heart  the  mansions  of  the  blessed, 
which  Jesus  has  gone  to  prepare  ;  and, 
although  it  leaves  us  in  a  world  of  mys- 
tery, teaches  us  even  here  to  trust.  Ah  ! 
how  little  'do  we  know  of  the  religion  of 
Christ,  until  the  days  of  darkness  come ! 

Therefore,  let  those  who  would  be 
prepared  for  all  the  vicissitudes  of  life, 
its  disappointments,  its  bereavements,  be- 
come earnest  seekers  of  religion,  until  the 
Christian  faith  is  the  breath  of  their  nos- 
trils, the  common  air  in  which  they  live. 
Let  them  fill  their  hearts  with  it.     Let  it 

3 


26  PREPARATION. 

pervade  their  homes,  and  govern  their 
families.  Among  all  the  realities  of  life 
let  it  be  regarded,  as  it  is,  in  fact,  the 
chief  reality.  Thus  having  their  daily 
walk  with  God,  when  they  come  to  the 
dark  valley  of  sorrow  and  of  the  shadow 
of  death,  his  rod  and  his  staff  will  com- 
fort them.  Earth  has  no  sorrow  which 
Heaven  cannot  heal. 

Another  source  of  returning  strength 
in  the  time  of  adversity,  and  of  consola- 
tion in  bereavement,  is  found  in  the  ac- 
customed performance  of  duty.  "  What- 
soever thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with 
thy  might,"  is  sometimes  the  first  word 
of  practical  comfort,  and  brings  the 
earliest  relief  The  words  of  sympathy 
may  be  heard  with  patience,  and  will  by 
and  by  be  remembered  with  gratitude. 
The  hearty  encouragement  of  friends  may 


PREPARATION.  27 

arouse  us  from  despondency,  and  prepare 
us  for  new  exertion  ;  but  the  heart's 
pulse  cannot  become  healthy  when  the 
hands  are  idle.  We  must  return  to  our 
working,  and  to  the  daily  routine  of  life's 
duties,  however  cheerless  the  task  may 
be,  and  however  difficult.  We  may  have 
no  heart  for  it,  and  rather  a  feeling  of 
weariness  and  disgust ;  but  the  exertion 
for  duty's  sake  will  be  like  medicine  to 
the  soul.  The  sooner  we  are  compelled 
to  receive  it,  the  better  for  us  ;  and  the 
necessity  of  working,  which  seems  at  first 
a  hardship,  is  found  to  be  a  blessing.  It 
is  therefore  to  be  accounted  one  of  the 
aggravations  of  severe  affliction  that  it 
throws  the  mind  off  from  its  balance,  and 
for  the  moment  paralyzes  its  energies,  so 
that  the  capacity  of  working  is  lost.  Some- 
times, too,  a  change  is  produced  in  our 


28  PREPARATION. 

position,  so  that  the  _^ ordinary  routine  of 
duty  is  stopped,  and  an  interval  of  com- 
parative idleness  must  be  endured  until 
the  fierceness  of  the  calamity  be  over- 
past. But  the  sooner  we  can  return  to 
accustomed  duties,  and  the  more  exactly 
we  perform  them,  the  better.  We  may 
not  do  them  heartily,  but  yet  faithfully. 
If  they  are  such  duties  as  can  be  per- 
formed mechanically,  while  our  thoughts 
are  elsewhere,  they  will  be  the  easier,  and 
the  less  wearing  to  the  mind.  If  they 
are  such  as  to  require  hearty  interest  in 
them  for  their  proper  performance,  it  is 
probable  that  they  will,  at  first,  be  imper- 
fectly done,  and  the  voluntary  effort  to  do 
them  may  come  very  hard.  But,  what- 
ever the  case  may  be,  no  one  ever  gains 
by  shrinking  from  his  duty,  and  the  con- 
tinual effort  should  be  made.     Hour  after 


PREPARATION.  20 

hour  will  bring  its  own  strength.  One 
duty  helps  us  on  to  another.  The  en- 
deavor to  serve  God  brings  us  nearer  to 
him,  and  we  submit  to  his  divine  will,  not 
only  with  patience,  but  in  that  active 
cooperation  by  which  we  become  instru- 
ments in  his  hands,  and  cheerfully  go  for- 
ward in  the  path  which  he  has  ordained, 
although  it  may  lead  through  sorrow  unto 
death.  To  sit  down  and  weep,  although 
we  may  say  God's  will  be  done,  is  not  the 
Christian  resignation.  It  is  to  arise  from 
that  prayer,  with  Jesus  Christ,  and  go 
forward  to  the  completion  of  our  work. 

It  may  be  a  hard  lesson  to  learn,  but  it 
does  not  the  less  need  to  be  taught.  Un- 
til we  have  learned  it,  we  are  not  strong 
to  endure  the  heavy  trials  of  life,  and  fail 
to  derive  from  them  their  best  instruction. 
He  who  is  withdrawn   from   his   duty  by 


30  PREPARATION. 

grief,  and  spends  his  time  in  the  idleness 
of  regret,  is  adding  to  the  providential 
infliction  the  feeling  of  personal  unfaith- 
fulness, still  harder  to  endure.  If  the 
calamity  under  which  he  suffers  be  worldly 
mortification  and  loss,  let  him  grapple  with 
the  difficulty  without  complaint,  and,  by 
manly  enterprise,  correcting  the  faults  of 
the  past,  command  success  for  the  future. 
If  it  be  a  heavier  loss,  for  which  earth 
has  no  healing,  and  time  no  cure,  let  us 
rem'ember  that  the  only  road  which  leads 
to  the  heavenly  physician  is  the  path  of 
duty,  and,  if  we  would  be  followers  of 
Jesus  Christ,  we  must  also  be  the  bearers 
of  his  cross. 

We  may  perceive,  therefore,  the  force 
of  the  words  used,  that  the  accustomed 
performance  of  duty  is  a  source  of  conso- 
lation, and    of   renewed   strength.       We 


PREPARATION.  31 

must  have  previous  habits  of  industry, 
and  the  regular  employment  of  time,  or 
adversity  will  find  us  without  nerve  for 
exertion,  and  w^ithout  energy  of  will.  It 
is  then  no  time  to  learn  how  to  work,  and 
how  to  forget  one's  self  in  the  work  done. 
Strictly  voluntary  exertion  is  almost  impos- 
sible, and  we  need  all  the  strength  of  for- 
mer habit  to  enable  us  to  act  like  men. 
But,  if  trouble  finds  us  in  the  midst  of 
our  duties,  the  hands  may  continue  to 
work  ;  the  mind,  for  a  moment  distracted, 
soon  recovers  its  tone,  and  the  heart, 
arousing  from  the  first  consternation  of 
grief,  is  prepared,  by  obedience  to  the 
will  of  God,  for  the  consolations  of  his 
Spirit.  For  we  are  then  doing  our  part 
with  faithfulness,  and  God  will  sustain 
and  strengthen  us.  He  shall  come  down 
like  rain  upon  the  mown  grass,  like  dew 


32  PREPARATION. 

upon  the  plant  which  perisheth  ;  for  as  a 
father  pitieth  his  children,  so  doth  the 
Lord  pity  those  who  fear  him. 

However  severe  the  trials  of  life  may 
be,  we  can  therefore  always  hold  ourselves 
in  readiness  for  them.  One  word  of  coun- 
sel includes  all.  "  Fear  God  and  keep 
his  commandments  ;  for  this  is  the  whole 
of  manhood,  the  whole  duty  of  man." 
Having  a  good  conscience,  putting  our 
trust  in  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  living 
in  the  daily  performance  of  our  duty,  and 
doing  it  as  unto  the  Lord,  we  are  pre- 
pared for  every  emergency  of  life,  and 
under  its  severest  trials  the  Comforter  will 
be  with  us.  "  Peace  I  leave  with  you, 
my  peace  I  give  unto  you,"  said  the  Sav- 
iour. "  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled, 
neither  let  it  be  afraid." 


CriaL 


Tliere  is  a  battle  to  bo  foiio-ht. 

An  upward  race  to  run, 
A  crown  of  glory  to  be  sought, 

A  victory  to  be  won. 

With  the  baptism  that  I  am  baptized  with,  ye  shall 
be  baptized. 

No  chastening  for  the  present  seems  joyous,  but 
grievous  ;  but  afterward  it  yields  the  peaceable  fruits 
of  ritrliteousness. 


O  God,  who  knowest  us  to  be  eet  in  the  midst  of  so 
many  and  great  dangers,  that  by  reason  of  the  frailty 
of  our  nature  we  cannot  always  stand  upright  ;  grant 
to  us  such  strength  and  protection  as  may  support  us 
in  all  dangers,  and  carry  us  through  all  temptatiouiJ. 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 


TRIAL. 


We  do  not  seek,  however,  to  conceal 
from  ourselves  the  severity  of  discipline 
to  which,  under  the  providence  of  God, 
we  are  here  subjected.  It  would  not  be 
difficult  to  give  such  representations  of 
human  life  as  would  make  it  appear  any- 
thing but  a  blessing.  From  some  points 
of  view  it  seems  to  be  nothing  but  trouble 
and  care,  a  weary  progress  of  pain  and 
disappointment,  of  vexation  and  loss.  To 
say  nothing  of  its  sins  and  the  retribution 
of  sin,  which  are  in  themselves  the  worst 
evils,  there  is  enough  suffering  from  prov- 
idential causes,  over  which  we  have  little 


36  TRIAL. 

or  no  control,  to  fill  our  hearts  with  sad 
ness,  and  to  make  us  feel  as  if  we  were 
walking  in  a  gloomy  path,  which  must 
become  more  and  more  gloomy  to  the  end. 
An  infancy  of  tears,  a  childhood  of  dis 
appointments,  a  youth  of  mistakes,  a  man- 
hood of  care,  an  old  age  of  weariness  and 
despondency,  with  its  gray  hair  and  tot- 
tering steps  brought  down  in  sorrow  to 
the  tomb.  "  Vanity  of  vanities,"  saith 
the  preacher,  "  all  is  vanity," 
""  First,  there  are  the  pains  and  bodily 
diseases,  the  thousand  natural  shocks  that 
flesh  is  heir  to.  We  may  lessen  them  by 
temperance  and  careful  obedience  to  the 
laws  of  health  ;  but  none  of  us  can  alto- 
gether escape.  There  will  be  many  days 
and  weeks  in  which  we  shall  say  we  have  no 
pleasure  in  them.  In  the  morning  we  cry 
out,  would  God  that  it  were  evening,  and 


TRIAL.  61 

when  the  night  comes,  would  God  that  it 
were  morning.  Or,  if  the  pain  is  not  suf- 
fered in  our  own  persons,  we  may  have  a 
harder  trial  in  witnessing  the  pain  of  those 
whom  we  love,  and  who  look  to  us  for  the 
relief  which  we  are  not  able  to  give.  Per- 
haps it  is  at  the  bedside  of  one  too  young 
or  too  helpless  to  express  his  wants  and 
sufferings,  and  over  whom  we  watch  in  the 
helpless  agony  of  despair.  Perhaps  it  is  a 
long-continued  contest  with  some  incur- 
able disease,  which  baffles  all  skill,  and 
goes  on  with  uninterrupted  course  to  the 
end.  But,  in  some  form  or  other,  the 
trial  comes  to  every  family  and  househoM. 
llow  many  are  there  at  this  moment  to 
whom,  upon  their  beds  of  suffering,  day 
brings  no  relief,  and  night  brings  no 
repose  ! 

Then    there    are    the    disappointments 


38  TRIAL. 

and  losses  to  which  all  are  subject.  Pov- 
erty is  not  the  worst  evil ;  for  a  man  may 
be  very  poor,  and  very  contented.  But 
when  his  daily  exertions  fail  to  bring  him 
daily  bread,  when  his  best  industry  can- 
not provide  clothing  and  education  for  his 
children,  when  the  anxiety  for  the  morrow 
is  forced  upon  him  in  spite  of  all  his  faith, 
and  to  the  destruction  almost  of  hope 
itself,  the  physical  evil  of  poverty  be- 
comes a  greater  spiritual  evil,  weighing 
down  the  mind,  and  sometimes  debasing 
the  character.  The  poverty  of  which  the 
world  is  so  full,  and  which  we  are  daily 
called  upon  to  relieve,  is  an  evil  of  in- 
creasing magnitude  ;  and,  although  we 
may  not  suffer  from  it  ourselves,  its  pres- 
ence among  us  is  a  cause  of  grief,  and 
our  inability  to  remove  it  becomes  a  per- 
sonal hardship.     It  spoils  our  comfort  to 


TRIAL.  39 

know  that  there  are  so  many  within  our 
daily  reach  who  are  yet  removed  beyond 
our  effectual  sympathy.  To  live  in  the 
midst  of  suffering  which  we  have  no 
power  to  relieve,  is  to  share  in  the  suffer- 
ing ourselves. 

Sometimes  it  comes  still  nearer  to  us, 
if  not  by  absolute  want,  yet  by  the  losses 
and  reverses  of  fortune  to  which  the  most 
prosperous  are  exposed.  The  best  se- 
cured fortune  may  be  lost,  and  they  who 
are  now  living  in  afiQuence  may  find  them- 
selves next  week  looking  for  the  means 
of  support.  All  their  plans  of  life  are 
frustrated,  the  luxuries  upon  which  they 
had  learned  to  depend  as  needful  comforts 
must  be  given  up,  their  position  in  society 
is  changed,  and  they  must  begin  life  over 
again,  once  more  to  go  through  its  strug- 
gles  and   endure   its  buffets,   at  a  time 


40  TRIAL. 

when  they  had  thought  themseh^es  ahiiost 
secure  in  the  haven  of  retired  competency 
and  wealth.  Riches  take  to  themselves 
wings  and  fly  away.  There  is  no  invest- 
ment absolutely  secure  from  loss,  except 
of  that  which  we  have  honorably  used  to 
good  and  honorable  purpose.  Nor  is  it 
only  the  loss  of  what  we  may  have 
earned,  but  still  more  it  is  the  mortifica- 
tion incident  to  the  loss,  and  the  long 
series  of  vexations  and  troubles  which 
must  follow.  The  misunderstandings,  the 
unjust  reproaches,  the  unavailing  regrets 
that  those  whom  we  sought  to  serve  have 
been  made  to  suffer,  the  oppressive  feel- 
ing of  debt  which  we  would  gladly  coin 
our  blood  to  pay,  and  we  know  not  how 
many  other  feelings  most  distressing  to 
those  who  have  the  nicest  sense  of  honor, 
are    implied    in    those    words   which    we 


TRIAL.  41 

speak  so  carelessly,  and  which  describe  a 
thing  of  daily  occurrence,  the  reverses  of 
fortune.  The  life  which  is  mnrked  by 
such  vicissitudes,  and  in  which  such 
changes  are  continually  to  be  feared,  is 
too  full  of  care  to  be  a  life  of  enjoyment. 
But  what  are  these  losses  of  outward 
temporal  blessings,  which  future  industry 
may  restore,  and  which  will  be  remem- 
bered by  and  by  with  pleasantness,  com- 
pared with  the  loss  of  our  household  treas- 
ures, our  friends  and  kindred,  to  whom 
our  hearts  Avere  given,  and  with  whom 
our  hearts  are  buried?  How  lonely  and 
desolate  is  the  house  where  bereavement 
has  come  !  IIow  heavy  are  the  hearts  of 
those  who  continue  to  do  their  appointed 
duties,  which  have  now  become  a  task- 
work, from  which  the  relish    has  gone  ! 

IIow  dreary  is  Hij  path  of  life,  with  its 
4* 


42  TRIAL. 

miserable  routine  of  cares,  its  childish 
toys  and  playthings,  its  amusements  and 
its  follies,  to  those  who  have  looked  upon 
the  angel  of  death,  and  who  have  stood 
by  the  open  grave  !  It  is  not  that  they 
would  complain,  but  that  they  are  be- 
reaved. Rachel  weeping  for  her  children, 
and  refusing  to  be  comforted  because  they 
are  not.  Every  family  has  its  vacant 
seats  at  the  fireside  ;  every  heart  at  times 
seeks  for  those  who  are  living,  in  the 
places  of  the  dead.  We  cannot  escape 
the  pains  of  bereavement  ;  our  dearest 
love  cannot  hold  back  those  whom  God 
calleth  ;  and  while  we  mourn  for  the  de- 
parted, trembling  mixes  with  our  love  for 
those  who  remain. 

It  is  thus  that  the  dread  element  of 
uncertainty  is  everywhere  present,  to  les- 
sen  and    often   to  spoil   our  best  enjoy- 


TRIAL.  43 

ments.  The  danger  of  losing  whatever 
we  possess,  and  whatever  we  enjoy,  is 
always  impending  ;  and  the  feeling  of  se- 
curity is  one  which  we  can  never  wisely 
entertain.  For,  if  it  were  possible  to  pro- 
tect ourselves  from  pain  and  disease,  if  we 
could  insure  our  possessions  against  the 
possibility  of  loss,  if  we  could  close  our 
doors  against  that  visitor  who  comes 
with  equal  tread  to  the  threshold  of  rich 
and  poor,  and  who  chooses  first  those  who 
are  loveliest  —  if  we  could  thus  secure  the 
permanence  of  all  the  conditions  which 
belong  to  a  prosperous  life,  yet  does  our 
own  life  itself  continue  only  from  day  to 
day.  We  are  but  tenants  at  will,  to  be 
removed  with  or  without  warning.  This 
night  shall  thy  soul  be  required  of  thee  ; 
and  then  whose  shall  all  those  things  be  ? 
The  windows  of  the  house  are  darkened, 


44  TRIAL. 

the  wheel  is  broken  at  the  cistern,  the 
pitcher  is  broken  at  the  fountain,  the 
mourners  go  about  the  streets  for  a  few 
days  remembering  us,  and  then  the  place 
which  knew  us  shall  know  us  no  more 
forever. 

The  indisputable  fact  that  we  may  die 
at  any  moment  is  of  itself  enough,  hu- 
manly speaking,  and  with  only  a  human 
view,  to  make  the  thought  of  happiness 
absurd.  We  must  put  it  out  of  A'iew,  or 
human  enjoyment  is  impossible.  And 
therefore  God  has  graciously  ordained 
that,  while  we  know  and  admit  the  fact 
whenever  it  is  distinctly  stated,  it  comes 
to  us  rather  as  an  abstract  proposition,  a 
general  law  of  humanity,  than  as  a  truth 
of  personal  application.  Only  by  a 
strong  mental  effort  does  it  come  to  the 
individual  so  as  to  be  a  personal  concern. 


TRIAL.  45 

It  scarcely  ever  comes  at  all  in  the  hours 
of  happiness,  and  we  live  on  from  day  to 
day  with  a  feeling  of  security,  although 
well  knowing  that  we  are  not  secure  ;  and 
reach  forward  with  our  plans  and  schem- 
ings  with  a  self-assured  certainty  of 
many  years,  when  we  know  well  enough 
that  we  ought  not  to  count  upon  as  mnny 
days.  This  is  not  mere  thoughtlessness  on 
our  part,  nor  is  it  generally  a  wilful  confi- 
dence in  the  duration  of  life.  It  is  the 
wise  and  merciful  ordering  of  Providence, 
without  which  the  best  provided  life 
would  be  unhappy.  If  the  uncertainty 
of  life  were  ever  present  with  us,  dwell- 
ing in  our  thoughts,  seen  by  the  mind's 
eye,  as  the  fact  really  is,  not  one  of  us 
could  enjoy,  and  few  could  endure,  to  live. 
If  we  could  see  the  arrows  which  fly  by 
night,  passing  so  near  to  us  on  every  side 


46  TRIAL. 

a  thousand  thousand  times  before  they 
touch  us  with  their  fatal  point  ;  if  we 
could  hear  the  silent  tread  of  the  pesti- 
lence which  walketh  in  darkness,  and  the 
moving  of  its  wings,  which  disturb  the  air 
we  breathe,  as  it  goes  onward  wasting  at 
noonday  ;  if  we  discerned  the  peril  in 
■which  we  thus  continually  stand,  the  dan- 
gers and  the  snares  among  which  we  so 
confidently  move,  our  only  prayer  would 
be  that  death  might  come  quickly,  to 
release  us  from  the  pain,  the  trembling, 
and  the  fear.  The  terror  would  continu- 
ally be  increased  in  proportion  to  the 
greatness  of  our  seeming  bliss  ;  and  God, 
in  his  mercy,  has  therefore  made  it  possi- 
ble for  us  to  be  happy  by  the  gift  of  un- 
consciousness, so  that,  without  reasoning 
upon  the  subject  and  against  reason,  we 
enjoy  the   present,  and   look   forward  to 


TRIAL.  47 

the  future  with  instinctive  confidence. 
But,  for  a  truly  happy  life,  for  the  happi- 
ness which  reasonable  beings  crave,  some- 
thing more  than  this  instinctive  evasion 
of  the  truth  nuist  be  given.  By  shutting 
our  eyes  to  the  danger,  the  childish  pleas- 
ure-seeking of  life  may  continue  ;  but 
when  we  put  away  childish  things,  and 
become  mature  in  understanding,  we 
need  some  higher  law  by  which  to  live, 
and  under  which  to  enjoy. 

The  proposition  with  which  we  began 
will  therefore  remain  undisputed,  that 
human  life  may  be  represented  so  as  to 
appear  anything  but  a  desirable  gift. 
When  we  think  of  the  cares  and  anxie- 
ties, the  burdens  and  vexations,  the 
weariness  and  the  pains,  the  conflicts  and 
defeats,  the  disappointments  and  losses, 
the  estrangements  of  friendship  and  the 


48  TRIAL. 

desertions  of  love,  the  betrayals  of  confi- 
dence and  the  returns  of  evil  for  good, 
^vhen  we  think  how  often  the  abundance 
of  joy  is  thus  suddenly  changed  to  bitter 
ness  of  grief,  we  must  either,  if  we  are  ra 
tional  beings,  lie  down  in  despair  under  a 
burden  too  heavy  to  be  borne,  or  we  rriusl 
rise  up  with  a  new  and  better  strength,  to 
breathe  an  atmosphere  more  serene,  and 
to  live  above  the  world  while  we  live  in 
it.  As  rational  beings,  we  cannot  close 
our  eyes  to  that  which  reason  and  experi- 
ence declare  ;  but,  as  spiritual  beings,  we 
may  enter  into  the  counsel  of  God,  and 
learn  from  him  what  is  the  reality  of  life 
amidst  all  of  its  seemings,  what  is  its  real 
meaning  amidst  all  its  illusions,  what  are 
its  substantial  joys  amidst  all  its  disap- 
pointments, what  is  the  fixed  and  glorious 
result  of  all  its  changes.     It  is  for  this 


TRIAL.  49 

purpose  that  we  have  turned  our  thoughts 
to  that  Avhich  may  at  first  seem  a  sad  and 
gloomy  view  of  life ;  it  is  that  we  may 
pass,  by  the  necessity  of  the  case,  by  the 
demand  of  our  nature,  by  the  upward 
yearning  of  the  soul,  to  that  which  is  a 
thousand  times  more  true,  and  ten  thou- 
sand times  more  glorious. 

The  key  of  interpretation,  by  which 
that  is  made  plain  which  would  otherwise 
be  mysterious,  and  that  made  bright 
which  would  otherwise  be  gloomy,  is  sup- 
phed  by  the  knowledge  of  God's  purpose 
concerning  us,  and  our  consequent  faith 
in  his  providential  care.  Only  when  our 
will  is  in  opposition  to  his  do  the  uncer- 
tainties and  calamities  of  life  over-burden 
us.  While  we  think  of  present  enjoy- 
ment as  the  chief  end,  no  explanation 
of  Kfe's  manifold  sorrows  can  be  given. 


50  TRIAL. 

Adversity  is  then  an  unmixed  evil,  and 
every  day  of  grief  an  irretrievable  loss 
But  when  we  know  that  the  enjoyments 
of  life,  however  rich  and  abundant,  are 
not  the  purpose  of  life,  but  are  only  inci- 
dental to  its  real  uses,  we  begin  to  un- 
derstand that  the  same  love  which  gives 
may,  by  its  continued  and  higher  action, 
take  away. 

The  child,  looking  at  the  fruit-tree 
when  covered  with  beautiful  and  fra- 
grant blossoms,  supposes  that  beauty  and 
fragrance  are  its  ultimate  end.  He  is 
disappointed  when  the  blossoms  fall,  and 
the  tree  appears  to  him  unsightly  and 
useless.  But  when  he  learns  that  the 
fruit  now  begins  to  be  formed,  he  changes 
his  thought,  and  understands  that  the 
blossoms  were  but  the  superfluous  adorn- 
ings,  which  must  pass  away  before  the 


TRIAL.  51 

real  uses  of  the  tree  can  appear.  And  so 
it  is  with  our  life.  Its  childhood  and 
youth  are  filled  with  delights,  its  advanc- 
ing years  are  crowned  with  blessings,  we 
are  led  by  a  gentle  hand  over  green  pas- 
tures and  by  the  still  waters,  and  our 
cup  of  gladness  runneth  over.  Then, 
with  childlike  thought,  we  rejoice  in  the 
abundance  of  God's  gifts,  and  if  we 
thank  him  at  all,  it  is  for  the  enjoyment 
conferred,  and  not  for  the  love  from  which 
it  proceeds,  and  by  which  it  may  pres 
ently  be  withdrawn.  We  need  to  learr 
that  the  purpose  of  the  tree  is  to  bear 
fruit,  not  flowers ;  and  that  the  wisdom 
and  goodness  of  God  may  abound  only 
the  more  at  the  time  when  the  blossoms 
fall. 

But  our  lives  are  not  like  the  trees  of 
this  colder  clime,  which  are  quite  shorn 


52  TRIAL. 

of  their  beauty  before  the  fruit  begins  to 
appear,  but  rather  like  the  orange  and 
citron  tree,  on  which  new  blossoms  con- 
tinually come,  and  successively  give  place 
to  the  forming  fruit.  So,  in  our  mortal 
life,  one  delight  after  another  disappears, 
giving  place  to  that  higher  instruction 
which  is  the  intended  fruit.  But  new 
delights  continue  to  bloom  around  us,  so 
that,  together  with  the  sadness  of  increas- 
ing wisdom,  the  spring  and  the  summer 
of  the  heart  are  continually  renewed. 
But  still  the  truth  remains,  that  the  fruit, 
and  not  the  flower,  is  the  ultimate  end. 
What  is  the  will  of  God  concerning  us  ? 
It  is  that  we  should  become  holy  ;  that 
we  should  grow  to  the  stature  of  Chris- 
tian manhood  ;  that,  by  the  discipline  of 
life,  its  mingled  joys  and  sorrows,  we  may 
be  educated  for  heaven.     All  present  en- 


IRIAL.  53 

joyment  and  suffering  are  to  be  regarded 
chiefly  in  that  view.  They  are  good  or 
evil,  not  according  to  their  seeming,  but 
as  they  minister  to  that  end.  The  beau- 
ties and  the  glories  of  life,  its  purest 
enjoyments,  its  sweetest  charms,  are 
often  only  the  flowers  that  must  fall 
before  the  fruit  appears.  If  their  con- 
tinuance hindered  the  fruit,  would  their 
continuance  be  a  proof  of  God's  love  ? 
We  may  weep  while  we  answer,  and  feel 
that  the  glory  has  departed  from  our 
house  ;  but  still,  if  we  are  not  wayward 
children,  we  shall  consent  to  that  which 
the  Lord  doeth  that  it  is  right. 

Believe,  therefore,  in  the  wisdom  of 
God.  Consider  his  great  purpose  con- 
cernijig  us,  and  although  our  path  may  be 
sometimes  rugged  and  steep,  we  shall 
perceive   that  it  is  the   right  path,   and 


54  TRIAL. 

leading  us  in  the  right  way.  The  uncer- 
tainties of  life  are  a  needful  part  of  its 
discipline.  The  stolen  treasure  of  earth 
turns  our  thoughts  to  the  tre_asure  iiL 
heaven,  which  neither  moth  nor  rust 
doth  corrupt,  and  which  thieves  do  not 
break  through  to  steal.  The  pains  of  the 
body  remind  us  of  its  mortality,  and 
awaken  us  to  the  higher  life  of  the  soul. 
Adversity,  however  stern  in  its  coming, 
looks  back  upon  us  with  a  smiling  face 
when  its  lessons  have  been  learned  ;  and 
bereavement,  with  the  hand  which  smitej, 
points  upward  to  the  heaven  where  our 
angels  dwell.  "  Ye  shall  drink,"  said  the 
Saviour,  "  of  my  cup  ;  and  with  the  bap- 
tism wherewith  I  am  baptized,  ye  shall  be 
baptized  withal."  And  do  we  not,  like 
those  brave-hearted  disciples  of  olden 
time,  do  we  not  consent  to  the  baptism, 


TRIAL.  55 

although  in  the  bitterness  of  tears?  Do 
we  love  the  body  so  much  that  we  would 
not  rather. save  the  soul?  Do  we  shrink 
from  the  cross,  when  our  eyes  are  already 
fixed  upon  the  crown  ? 

Understand,  therefore,  the  purpose  of 
God  concerning  us,  and  we  shall  under- 
stand all  the  mysteries  of  life.  If  we 
can  make  his  purpose  our  own,  we  shall 
be  saved  from  a  great  part  of  its  tempta- 
tions. We  shall  smile  at  its  outward 
losses,  we  shall  endure  with  patience  its 
heavier  griefs,  we  shall  learn  by  waiting 
to  serve  God,  and  by  suffering  to  become 
strong.  We  do  not  say  that  we  can 
thereby  secure  uninterrupted  enjoyment ; 
but  we  shall  secure,  amidst  the  severest 
storms  of  life,  uninterrupted  peace.  We 
shall  secure  uninterrupted  progress.  We 
shall  make  our  earthly  life,  with  all  its 


56  TRIAL. 

adversities,  an  uninterrupted  blessing. 
Consent  to  this  eternal  truth,  that  the 
soul's  salvation  is  the  great  end  to  be 
accomplished,  and  we  shall  perceive  that 
God  doeth  all  things  well. 


SaUalin^ss  aiii  g)trnt3tlj 


Forgive  the  weakness  I  deplore, 
And  let  thy  peace  abound  in  me, 

That  I  may  trust  myself  no  more, 
But  wholly  cast  myself  on  thee. 

0  !  let  my  Father's  strength  be  mine, 
And  my  devoted  life  be  thine  ! 

But  when  he  saw  the  winds  and  the  sea  boistoi  .  is, 
he  was  afraid. 

Lord,  increase  our  faith. 


Hear  my  prayer,  0  God,  and  hide  not  thyself  from 
my  petition.  Take  heed  unto  me  and  hear  me,  how  I 
mourn  in  my  prayer  and  am  troubled.  My  heart  is 
disquieted  within  me,  and  the  fear  of  death  is  fallen 
upon  me.  Tearfulness  and  trembling  are  come  upon 
me,  and  an  horrible  dread  hath  overwhelmed  me.  And 
I  said,  0  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove,  for  then  would 
I  fly  away  and  be  at  rest.  I  would  make  haste  to 
escape  from  the  stormy  wind  and  tempest.  But  yet  I 
will  call  upon  God,  and  the  Lord  shall  save  me,  0, 
cast  thy  burden  upon  the  Lord,  and  he  shall  sustain 
thee   and  shall  not  suffer  the  righteous  to  fall. 


WEAKNESS  AND  STRENGTH. 


When  a  difficult  duty  was  made  known 
to  the  disciples,  they  came  to  Jesus  and 
said,  Lord,  increase  our  faith.  It  is  the 
same  prayer  which  we  need  continually 
to  offer.  We  sometimes  desire  more 
knowledge,  and  complain  that  revelation 
has  not  instructed  us  more  fully,  and 
sometimes  we  ask  for  more  evidence  of 
its  truth.  We  suffer  our  minds  to  become 
perplexed  with  difficult  doctrines,  or  with 
what  are  called  philosophical  explana- 
tions, which  darken  what  knowledge  we 
possess,  and  then,  if  religion  fails  to  ex- 


60        WEAKNESS   AND    STRENGTH. 

ercise  upon  us  the  needful  control,  and  to 
give  the  desired  comfort,  we  impute  the 
blame  to  the  religion,  instead  of  imputing 
it  to  ourselves.  We  need  not  more  in- 
struction nor  clearer  evidence  of  the  truth, 
but  more  faith.  We  need  greater  capac- 
ity of  believing,  and  a  more  childlike 
spirit  in  its  exercise. 

Certainly  our  religion  contains  all  the 
instruction  that  we  need.  It  is  adapted 
to  all  the  exigences  of  life,  and  can  sup- 
ply aU  its  wants.  As  a  system  of  theol- 
ogy, it  reveals  God  in  his  infi-nite  perfec- 
tions, so  that  we  can  understand  his  deal- 
ings with  us  ;  and  as  a  system  of  moral 
instruction,  it  develops  all  that  is  true  in 
our  nature.  The  heavenly  Father,  whom 
Christ  makes  known,  is  a  being  of  infinite 
wisdom  and  of  perfect  goodness.  His 
power  is  directed  by  love,  and  under  his 


WEAKNESS     AND     STRENGTH.        Gl 

protection  we  are  shielded  from  all  harm. 
Among  all  the  changes  of  life  we  may- 
feel  secure,  because  without  him  not  even 
a  sparrow  falleth  to  the  ground.  By 
knowing  his  purposes  concerning  us,  our 
redemption  from  sin,  and  the  education 
of  our  souls  for  immortal  life,  the  myste- 
ries of  his  providence,  otherwise  inscru- 
table, receive  explanation,  and  we  can 
rest  assured  that  while  infinite  wisdom 
directs,  infinite  power  can  execute  the 
plans  of  infinite  love,  so  that  all  things 
will  ultimately  work  together  for  our 
good.  Even  the  great  mystery  of  sin  is 
partly  explained  by  the  efficacy  of  repent- 
ance, and  the  promised  reconciliation 
vith  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  Tenipta- 
don  is  disarmed  of  its  power  to  those  who 
believe  that  God  answers  their  prayers, 
and  will  find  a  way  for  their  escape.    The 


62        WEAKNESS    AND     STRENGTH. 

burdens  of  life  become  light  to  those  who 
are  supported  by  a  divine  arm.  Adver- 
sity loses  its  threatening  aspect,  and 
becomes  a  proof  of  parental  love.  Be- 
reavement, however  sad,  no  longer  leaves 
us  to  sorrow  as  those  who  have  no  hope j 
for  the  dead  may  yet  belong  to  us  not  less, 
yea,  even  more  than  the  living.  Death 
itself  is  changed  from  an  enemy  to  a 
friend,  from  a  destroyer  to  a  deliverer,  by 
him  who  hath  given  us  the  victory.  We 
are  travellers  through  the  wilderness  to 
the  promised  land  ;  we  are  children,  re- 
ceiving our  education  for  the  maturity  of 
a  nobler  life  ;  we  are  soldiers  in  the  army 
of  God,  who  must  endure  the  conflict  be- 
fore the  victory  is  gained  ;  and,  however 
dark  the  road  may  sometimes  be,  and 
however  hard  the  lessons  to  be  learned, 
and  however  fierce  the  battle  in  which  we 


WEAKNESS     AND     STRENGTH.        63 

must  engage,  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire 
still  goes  before  us  to  guide,  the  voice  of 
our  heavenly  teacher  still  encourages  us 
to  learn,  and  the  armor  of  our  God  still 
defends  us  from  harm.  "  Nothing,"  said 
the  Saviour,  "can,  by  any  means,  hurt 
you."  Such  are  the  words  that  he  con- 
tinually speaks.  Seeming  evil  is  real 
good.  They  who  sow  in  tears  shall  reap 
in  joy.  Death  opens  the  way  to  life,  and 
the  afflictions  of  the  present  time,  which 
are  but  for  a  moment,  are  working  out  for 
us  a  far  more  exceeding,  even  an  eternal 
weight  of  glory. 

The  instruction,  therefore,  is  sufficient 
to  those  who  receive  it.  We  may  multi- 
ply all  the  calamities  of  life  beyond  what 
any  one  has  ever  endured,  and  beyond 
what  human  strength  can  endure,  until 
all  human  hope  is  gone,  and  all  earthly 


64        WEAKNESS     AND     STRENGTH. 

joy  departed  ;  and  still  the  support  given 
by  our  religion  is  sufficient  for  our  need, 
the  way  of  deliverance  is  still  open,  and 
the  light  from  heaven  shines  continually 
brighter. 

So  at  least  it  may  be,  and  was  intended 
to  be.  But  how  is  it  with  us  in  fact  ? 
With  the  knowledge  of  God's  love  and 
paternal  care,  with  the  knowledge  that 
Christ  died  for  us  and  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession  for  us,  with  the  knowl- 
edge that  death  is  but  the  passing  from 
an  earthly  to  a  heavenly  home,  with  the 
knowledge  that  all  our  trials  here  are  sent 
for  our  good,  and  that  God  is  never  mani- 
festing his  love  more  perfectly  than  when 
his  hand  of  chastening  is  laid  upon  us,  — 
with  such  instruction  given  to  us  by 
Christ,  and  received  by  us  as  true,  what 
are  our  real  feelings  when  calamity  ira- 


WEAKNESS     AND     STRENGTH.        05 

pends  ?     IIow  do  we  endure  the  cliastise- 
ment  ?     How  do  we  actually  receive  the 
sterner  discipline  of  life  ?     The  instruc- 
tion is  imin.ediately  forgotten,  the  explan- 
ations of  God's  providence  no  longer  sat- 
isfy us,  the  purposes  of  God  concerning 
us  are  disregarded,  the  promises  of  Christ 
seem  to  be  afar  off,  the  waves  of  sorrow 
go  over  us,  and  the  light  of  God's  pres- 
ence is  shut  out  from  our  souls.     The  dis- 
appointments and  losses  which   come   in 
the   ordinary  course  of   life    are    beyond 
our  patient  endurance,  and   the  bereave- 
ments which   make    our    homes    desolate 
prostrate   us   almost  in  hopeless   despair. 
Because    one    blessing   has    been    taken 
away,  there  seems  to  be  none  left.     Be- 
cause there  is  one  calamity,  there  seems 
to  be  no  joy.     Everything  seems  wrong, 
and,  like  the  unf  liLhful  prophet,  when  the 


C6        WEAKNESS    AND     STRENGTH. 

vine  withers  and  the  sun  beats  down  upon 
our  heads,  we  say,  and,  what  is  still  more, 
we  feel,  that  it  is  better  to  die  than  to 
live.  Trouble  conies  upon  us,  and  we 
faint ;  it  touches  us,  and  we  know  not 
what  to  do.  Where,  then,  is  our  fear,  our 
confidence,  the  uprightness  of  our  ways, 
and  our  hope  ? 

It  is  not  because  we  deliberately  rebel 
against  God,  nor  would  we  dare  to  take 
the  ordering  of  our  days  out  of  his 
hands  ;  but  we  are  astounded,  and  know 
not  which  way  to  turn.  It  is  not  that  we 
openly  complain  ;  but  we  shrink  from  the 
chastisement,  and  are  unable  to  look  up. 
Our  minds  tell  us  a  thousand  reasons  why 
we  should  be  comforted,  but  no  word  of 
comfort  reaches  the  heart.  What,  then, 
is  the  difficulty  ?  There  must  be  some 
defect,    some    short- coming,    some    defi- 


WEAKNESS     AND    STRENGTH.        67 

ciency,  or  we  could  not  be  thus  unfaithful 
and  inconsistent.  We  may  say  that  the 
spirit  is  willing  and  the  flesh  is  weak, 
and  that  this  is  an  explanation  of  the  per- 
petual conflict  and  the  occasional  defeat. 
It  is  so.  But  why  should  that  weakness 
continue  ?  Why  does  not  the  spirit 
conquer  ?  Why  is  the  weakness  of  the 
body  transferred  to  the  soul,  instead  of 
the  soul's  strength  transferred  to  the 
body  ?  It  is  because  our  souls  themselves 
are  weak  through  the  want  of  faith. 
Religion  becomes  an  insufiicient  support, 
because  it  is  not  thoroughly  believed. 
There  may  be  no  deliberate  or  intentional 
doubting,  but  there  are  involuntary  mis- 
givings and  fears.  The  heart  wavers,  and 
the  mind  wavers  with  it.  We  had  thought 
ourselves  thoroughly  convinced,  but  now 
we  ask,  almost  with  trembling,  can  it  be 


68   WEAKNESS  AND  STRENGTH. 

true  that  God  lives,  does  his  providence 
never  fail,  in  judgment  does  he  remember 
mercy,  is  that  which  the  Lord  doeth 
always  right  ? 

We  wonder  at  ourselves  when  such 
thoughts  come.  We  are  ashamed  of  the 
state  of  mind  into  which  trouble  has 
thrown  us,  and  cannot  understand  it ;  yet 
it  continues,  and  our  souls  are  cast  down 
within  us.  They  are  also  sorely  vexed, 
and  even  our  prayer  is  that  of  despond- 
ency —  0  Lord,  how  long  ! 

Shall  we  say  that  this  is  the  condition 
of  none  but  a  worldly  and  irreligious 
man  ?  That  the  Christian  believer  can 
never  suffer  from  such  misgivings,  and 
weakness,  and  fears  ?  But  it  is  in  the 
language  of  David  that  we  have  been 
speaking,  and  Paul  himself,  although 
ready  to  be  offered  up,  exclaimed,  "  In 


WEAKNESS    iND     STRENGTH.        G9 

this  tabernacle  of  the  flesh  we  do- groan, 
being  burdened."  It  is  an  experience 
through  which  every  one,  sooner  or  later, 
must  pass ;  and  spiritual  strength  is 
gained  only  by  the  knowledge  and  con- 
fession of  weakness. 

But  what,  then,  shall  we  do  ?  When 
these  times  of  despondency  overtake  us, 
and  we  learn  that  we  are  still  weak,  even 
wherein  we  had  thought  ourselves  strong- 
est, how  shall  we  find  strength  and  com- 
fort? Shall  we  argue  over  again  each 
point  of  doctrine,  and  reestablish  every 
truth  ?  No  ;  for  at  such  times  the  intel- 
lect does  not  lead  the  heart,  but  the  heart 
leads  the  intellect.  Shall  we  accuse  our- 
selves of  sin,  as  if  all  our  former  religion 
had  been  hypocrisy,  and  all  our  faith  a 
delusion  and  lie  ?  No ;  for  our  former 
religion  was  sincere,  and  our  faith  had 


70        WEAKNESS    AND     STRENGTH. 

proved  equal  to  the  former  exigences  of 
life.  But  under  the  heavier  burden  more 
strength  is  needed,  and  the  severer  trial 
has  come  that  a  higher  lesson  may  be 
learned.  From  God  alone  can  the  need- 
ful strength  be  given  ;  and  we  who  are 
anxious,  but  scarcely  able  to  believe,  turn 
to  him,  as  the  apostles  came  to  Jesus, 
with  the  prayer,  "  Increase  our  faith." 
Here  is  the  difficulty,  and  here  is  the 
means  of  help.  Increase  our  faith.  Give 
to  the  spirit  victory  over  the  flesh.  Ena- 
ble us  firmly  to  believe  that  which  we 
now  imperfectly  discern  to  be  true.  Make 
the  spiritual  life  real  to  us,  so  that  we 
may  walk  by  faith,  and  not  by  sight. 
Strengthen  the  belief  of  the  intellect,  and 
exalt  it  until  it  becomes  the  conviction  of 
the  whole  soul.  Bring  heaven  nearer  to 
us,  and  make  the  presence  of  God  so  real 


WEAKNESS     AND     STRENGTH.        71 

that  in  him  we  may  live,  and  move,  and 
have  our  being.  Bring  eternity  near, 
until  death  shall  seem  to  us,  as  it  is,  the 
birth  and  starting-place  of  the  soul.  Lord, 
increase  our  faith  ! 

But  do  we  understand  the  full  meaning 
of  that  prayer  ?  It  is  not  to  increase  our 
willingness  to  believe,  for  we  are  never 
more  willing  than  when  the  greatness  of 
calamity  oppresses  the  soul.  We  are  will- 
ing, nay,  anxious  to  believe  ;  but  the 
confusion  of  our  thoughts  for  the  time 
prevails,  and  our  hearts  are  disquieted 
within  us.  Nor  is  it  chiefly  to  pray  that 
the  truth,  partially  revealed,  should  be 
more  fully  manifested.  It  is  rather  to  pray 
that  our  whole  capacity,  as  intellectual  and 
moral  beings,  may  be  enlarged ;  that  we 
may  be  lifted  up  from  one  grade  of  spirit- 
ual existence  to  another ;   that  our  nature 


72        WEAKNESS    AND     STRENGTH. 

itself  may  be  exalted  and  purified.  The 
things  to  be  seen  remain  unchanged,  but 
our  eyes  need  to  be  opened.  Open  thou 
the  eyes  of  my  mind,  that  I  may  clearly 
discern  the  things  which  are  in  thy  law  ! 

The  truths  of  religion  are  of  such  a 
kind  that  they  become  plainer  to  us  as 
we  advance  in  purity  and  goodness.  Our 
real  faith  in  Grod  can  be  increased  only 
by  our  becoming  more  like  God.  Unless 
we  have  the  spirit  of  Christ,  we  are  none 
of  his.  But,  as  the  mists  of  sin  are  dis- 
pelled, which  are  the  clouds  obscuring 
God's  countenance,  we  rise  to  a  clearer 
light,  we  breathe  with  a  larger  inspiration, 
we  live  in  a  more  glorious  companionship. 
Our  faith  cannot  be  increased  while  we 
remain  upon  the  same  level.  In  propor- 
tion as  we  do  his  will,  we  know  of  his 
doctrine.    We  must  come  nearer  to  Christ 


WEAKNESS    AND     STRENGTH.        73 

to  know  him  better,  and  only  by  becom- 
ing more  pure  in  heart  can  we  more 
clearly  see  our  God.  To  pray  for  an  in- 
crease of  faith  must  therefore  be  accom- 
panied by  the  prayer  and  by  the  exertion 
to  become  better  men.  But  what  do  we 
say  ?  It  is  but  one  and  the  same  prayer, 
differently  expressed  ;  it  is  the  same 
yearning  of  the  soul  towards  the  infinite 
and  all-merciful  God. 

These  are  the  words  of  truth  and  so 
berness.  They  are  the  fact  of  Christian 
experience  in  every  human  soul.  As  we 
become  better,  the  mysteries  of  God's 
providence  are  explained.  As  our  nature 
is  exalted,  the  difficulties  of  Christian 
faith  disappear.  Do  your  duty  twice  as 
well,  and  your  faith  will  be  twice  as 
strong.  Conform  your  lives  more  per- 
fectly to  the  will  of  God,  and  his  dealings 


74        rt^EAKNESS     AND     STRENGTH. 

with  you  will  become  continually  more 
plain.  By  thus  having  faith,  although  as 
a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  we  shall  be  able 
to  remove  the  most  threatening  obstacles 
from  our  path,  the  heaviest  mountains  of 
sorrow  from  our  souls. 

This  is,  therefore,  the  great  lesson 
which  we  have  to  learn,  and  we  should 
diligently  seek  to  understand  it.  We 
acknowledge  that  our  faith  needs  to  be 
increased.  It  must  be  increased  for  our 
endurance  of  the  discipline  of  life,  which 
is  sometimes  so  stern  ;  for  our  resignation 
to  its  griefs  and  disappointments,  which 
are  sometimes  so  hard  to  bear.  But  the 
increase  of  faith  is  the  enlargement  of 
capacity.  It  is  the  manly  growth  of  the 
soul.  It  is  advancement  in  goodness.  It 
is  the  renewal  of  the  image  of  God. 
Therefore,  in  seeking  for  faith  and  pray- 


WEAKNESS     AND     STRENGTH.        75 

ing  for  it,  seek  for  this  spiritual  growth 
and  pray  for  it.  Once  more  we  say  that 
it  is  one  and  the  same  seeking,  it  is  one 
and  the  same  prayer. 

How  differently  would  the  present  life 
appear  to  us,  if  we  were  what  we  ought 
to  be !  If  the  conflict  with  sin  had 
ceased,  and  the  lesson  of  self-control 
were  well  learned.  If  our  passions  were 
all  calmed,  and  our  desires  all  pure.  If 
no  duty  were  deferred  or  neglected,  and 
no  purpose  of  wrong  indulged.  Where 
would  then  be  the  conflict  of  mind, 
the  misgiving,  and  the  doubt?  Where 
would  then  be  the  mystery  of  God's 
providence,  and  the  despairing  loneliness 
of  our  hearts  ?  Sorrow  might  still  be  the 
portion  of  our  cup,  and  before  its  coming 
we  might,  for  the  moment,  still  pray  that 
it  should  pass  from  us  ;  but  God's  own 


76        WEAKNESS     AND     STRENGTH. 

angels  would  be  near  to  comfort,  and  the 
peace  which  passeth  all  understanding 
would  be  ours. 

May  God  therefore  increase  our  faith  ! 
By  becoming  like  Jesus  Christ,  may  we 
learn  to  pray  in  his  name.  By  being 
reconciled  with  God  in  the  daily  conduct 
of  our  lives,  may  we  learn  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  his  will.  May  our  souls  be  so 
enlarged,  and  our  hearts  so  purified  from 
sin,  that  we  may  discern  things  as  they 
are,  and  daily  become  more  strong.  May 
we  thus  rise  above  the  seemings  and  illu- 
sions of  the  world,  to  dwell  in  the  perfect 
truth  of  righteousness.  Who  shall  grieve 
at  that  which  is  bringing  him  nearer  to 
God  ?    Lord,  increase  our  faith  ! 


CtompitScitiaits, 


Deem  not  that  they  are  blessed  alone 
Whose  days  a  peaceful  tenor  keep  ; 

The  God  who  loves  our  race  has  shown 
A  blessing  for  the  eyes  that  weep. 

It  is  better  to  go  to  the  house  of  mourning  than  to 
the  house  of  feasting  ;  for  the  living  shall  lay  it  to 
heart. 

Blessed  are  they  that  mourn ;  for  they  shall  be  com- 
forted. 

1* 


Most  gracious  and  merciful  Father,  we  resign  our- 
selves and  all  our  interests  to  thy  disposal,  in  the  hum 
ble  hope  that  tliy  mercy  will  never  forsake  us,  and  that 
thou  wilt  cause  all  things  to  work  together  for  our 
good.  We  would  submit  patiently  to  thy  will  under 
every  affliction  ;  and  we  humbly  pray  that  we  may  so 
pass  through  the  changes  of  this  world,  as  finally  to  bo 
prepared  for  the  enjoyment  of  perfect  and  eternal  hap- 
piness in  the  world  to  come,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord. 


COMPENSATIONS. 


We  may  thus  learn  to  reconcile  our 
selves  to  the  will  of  God,  under  all  afflic- 
tions, and  to  resign  ourselves,  without 
complaining,  to  the  divine  disposal. 
Every  step  of  advancement  in  the  Chris- 
tian character  adds  to  our  Christian  faith, 
until  we  learn  to  lay  aside  all  doubt  and 
fear,  and  to  receive  both  joy  and  sorrow 
as  equally  proofs  of  parental  love.  When 
roused  from  the  sweetest  dreams  of 
earthly  bliss  by  that  which  seems  to  be 
the  voice  of  warning  and  rebuke,  we  shall 
answer,  "  Speak,  Lord,  for  thy  servant 
heareth  ;  ' '  and  although  with  tears  in  our 


80  COMPENSATIONS. 

eyes,  and  natural  sadness  in  our  hearts, 
renewedly  commend  ourselves  to  God,  as 
unto  a  faithful  Creator.  We  return  again 
to  the  ordinary  duties  of  life,  believing 
that,  although  our  human  hopes  are  dis- 
appointed, we  do  not  labor  in  vain  in  the 
Lord. 

There  is,  however,  a  still  higher  and 
progressive  experience,  by  which  we  may 
understand  more  perfectly  the  blessing 
pronounced  upon  those  who  mourn.  It  is 
the  experience  by  which  we  are  taught 
the  compensations  given,  even  here,  to 
those  upon  whom  the  burden  of  grief  is 
laid.  The  Scripture  teaches  that  they 
who  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy.  And 
again,  it  is  better  to  go  to  the  house  of 
mourning  than  to  the  house  of  feasting, 
for  that  is  the  end  of  all,  and  the  living 
shall  lay  it  to  their  hearts.      They  are 


COMPENSATIONS.  81 

words  which  we  may  have  read  and  heard 
a  thousand  times,  without  thinking  of 
them  as  being  literally  true.  We  have 
thought  of  them,  perhaps,  as  belonging 
to  the  church  and  the  pulpit,  and  as 
being  true  in  some  technical,  religious 
sense,  rather  than  as  expressing  the  act- 
ual facts  in  the  real  experience  of  life. 
Or,  if  we  have  allowed  to  them  an  exact 
meaning,  it  has  been  only  with  reference 
to  preparation  for  the  future  life.  We  have 
learned,  perhaps,  by  observing  the  effect 
of  adversity  upon  others  and  upon  our- 
selves, that  the  trials  of  life  are  well  cal- 
culated to  purify  and  elevate  the  soul. 
But  the  present  compensations  of  sorrow 
are  not  so  easily  discerned.  We  do  not 
so  willingly  learn  that  even  here,  in  the 
human  relationships  of  life,  of  friends  and 
kindred  and  home,  it  is  possible  for  us  to 


82  COMPENSATIONS. 

become  the  gamers  by  that  which  seems 
to  be  the  greatest  loss.  That  our  real 
happhiess  in  loving  each  other  may  be 
increased,  and  our  whole  life  become 
more  blessed  in  company  with  those 
whom  we  love,  because  of  the  shadows 
and  the  darkness  in  which  we  may  have 
been  appointed,  for  a  time,  to  dwell. 
Nay,  our  hearts  almost  shrink  from  the 
suggestion  of  such  a  possible  result,  as  if 
it  implied  forgetfulness  of  the  dead. 

Bereavement  is  indeed  the  deepest  sor- 
row, in  comparison  with  which  all  other 
providential  griefs  are  easily  endured.  It 
is  an  absolute  loss,  for  the  place  of  those 
taken  from  us  can  never  be  supplied.  It 
is  a  wound  which  cannot  be  perfectly 
healed,  and  the  memory  of  the  dead  must 
always  remain  as  an  experience  of  contin- 
ued soiTow.     Yet  as  time,  the  consoler, 


COMPENSATIONS.  83 

bears  us  onward,  and  brings  us  continu- 
ally nearer  to  those  whose  memory  is  so 
precious,  their  cherished  forms  become 
more  and  more  beautiful,  they  seem  to 
hover  around  us  clothed  in  garments  of 
angelic  light,  their  faces  beam  with  heav- 
enly expression,  and  their  dear  remem- 
bered voices  fill  our  ears  with  heavenly 
music.  Our  present  communion  with 
them  has  indeed  ceased  ;  for  it  could  not 
continue  consistently  with  the  health  of 
our  minds,  or  without  impairing  the 
practical  usefulness  of  this  earthly  life. 
It  is  not  appointed  to  us  to  live  in  the 
body  and  out  of  the  body  at  the  same 
time.  Even  the  communion  of  God's 
Spirit  is  granted  to  us  only  under  such 
conditions  that  we  cannot  distinctly  sepa- 
rate it  from  what  we  call  the  natural 
working  of  our  own  minds ;   nor  can  we 


84  COMPENSATIONS. 

say  of  it,  "  Lo  !  here,  or  lo  !  there,"  un- 
less we  claim  to  be  expressly  the  inspired 
prophets  of  God.  And  so  of  the  departed 
ones,  who  live  in  all  our  thoughts,  and 
whose  love  consecrates  all  our  aifections. 
To  our  mortal  sight  and  hearing  they  can- 
not return,  and  neither  for  their  sake  or 
our  own  should  we  desire  it.  Yet  we  may 
feel  that  they  are  still  ours,  not  only  to  be 
remembered,  but  to  be  loved  and  cher- 
ished. For,  although  dead,  they  are  yet 
living,  and  they  still  belong  to  us,  our 
heavenly  kindred,  although  the  quiet 
earth  has  received  their  forms,  and  the 
place  which  once  knew  them  can  know 
them  no  more. 

The  memory  of  the  dead  !  What  is 
this  life  in  comparison  7  What  is  there  so 
real  to  us,  so  unchangeably  real,  as  the 
memory  of  those  true  and  faithful  hearts 


COMPENSATIONS.  85 

which  once  beat  with  ours  here,  pulse  for 
pulse,  with  whom  we  sorrowed  and  re- 
joiced, and  who  have  gone  before  us,  only 
a  few  steps  in  advance,  cheering  us,  by 
the  remembrance  of  their  virtues,  on  the 
way  to  heaven  !  Tears  may  suffuse  our 
eyes  when  we  think  of  them,  yet  our 
thoughts  of  them  are  the  indispensable 
treasure  of  the  soul.  To  our  mind's 
eye  they  continually  return,  taking  their 
wonted  places,  greeting  us  with  the 
kindly  smile,  and  our  ears  are  again  filled 
with  the  sweet  tones  of  their  gentle 
voices.  Time  passes  ;  the  months  and 
years  roll  on  ;  the  burdens  of  life  are 
taken  up  and  laid  down  ;  the  cares  of 
life  vex  us,  and  are  forgotten  ;  new  joys 
and-^  new  sorrows  intervene  ;  new  hopes 
and  new  disappointments  exercise  our 
affections  ;   gray  hairs  begin  to  cover  our 


86  COMPENSATIONS. 

heads  ;  the  lines  of  thought  deepen,  until 
they  become  the  wrinkles  of  old  age  ;  but 
does  the  memory  of  the  dead  fade  away  ? 
Is  our  perception  of  the  loss  sustained 
less  keen,  or  do  they  become  to  us  as 
though  they  had  never  been  ? 

When  we  review  the  experience  of  our 
own  trials,  or  enter  into  the  experience 
of  others  by  sympathy  with  their  grief, 
we  know  that  there  is  but  one  answer. 
The  pain  of  bereavement  is  an  abiding 
grief,  and  a  portion  of  our  own  hearts 
and  of  our  own  lives  belongs  to  the  dead. 
It  is  indeed  an  irreparable  loss  that  we 
have  sustained,  and  we  cannot  hope  again 
to  be  the  same  persons  that  we  once  were. 
The  world  is  changed  to  us  ;  our  position 
in  it  is  changed  ;  its  uses  and  purposes  are 
no  longer  the  same,  and  can  never  again 
appear  in  their  former  light.     The  house- 


COMPENSATIONS.  87 

hold  to  which  the  angel  of  death  has  come 
can  never  forget  his  corning.  The  shadow 
which  his  wings  have  cast  over  the  soul 
must  remain,  however  jclearly  the  light 
from  God's  own  love  may  shine.  Yes, 
when  we  are  most  perfectly  resigned  to 
his  will,  and  most  perfectly  consoled 
under  the  loss  by  the  dear  promises  of 
Christ,  and  most  happy  in  the  sweet  hope 
of  reiinion  with  the  dead,  and  most  faith- 
ful in  using  the  discipline  which  we  know 
to  be  for  our  own  good,  the  loss,  in  itself 
considered,  may  then  seem,  as  it  perhaps 
then  becomes,  greater  than  it  ever  was 
before.  By  the  completeness  of  spiritual 
experience  is  the  depth  of  our  sorrow 
revealed.  By  the  spiritual  development 
of  our  affections  the  sacredness  of  earthly 
affection  and  of  earthly  relations  is  first 
discerned.     A  part  of  the  blessing  upon 


88  COMPENSATIONS. 

those  who  mourn  comes  by  learning  the 
greatness  of  their  loss. 

It  is  not,  therefore,  that  time  dulls 
our  perceptions,  or.that  the  bereavement 
seems  to  be  less.  Religion  does,  indeed, 
console ;  but  no  part  of  the  consolation  is 
found  in  forgetfulness.  Perhaps  we  may 
say  with  truth  that  the  bereaved  heart 
would  not  consent  to  the  direct  lessening 
of  its  grief,  for  it  would  imply  a  feebler 
consciousness  of  the  treasure  once  pos- 
sessed. We  would  not  cease  to  mourn 
even  when  we  most  desire  to  be  comforted. 

But  still  may  we  not  ask  ourselves, 
with  sadness  of  heart,  indeed,  but  yet  in 
the  soberness  of  deliberate  thought,  — ■ 
measuring  the  value  of  things  according 
to  their  real  worth,  —  would  it  have  been 
better  for  us  to  keep  all  here  ?  If  all 
who    began    life    with   us    had    continued 


COMPENSATIONS.  89 

with  US,  if  we  had  not  known  in  our 
families  what  death  means,  would  our 
sum  of  happiness  have  been  increased  ■? 
Would  our  present  perception  of  God's 
goodness  have  been  clearer '?  Would 
the  real  uses  of  life  have  been  more 
fully  accomplished  ? 

They  have  gone  from  us,  I  know,  and 
their  loss  can  never  be  made  good ;  but 
their  having  been  here ;  the  privilege 
that  we  enjoyed  in  knowing  and  loving 
them ;  the  belief  that  those  whom  we 
love,  and  who  love  us  in  return,  are  in 
heaven;  the  sense  of  security  in  which 
we  dwell  for  the  departed,  knowing  as 
we  do  that  their  earthly  trial  is  ended, 
and  that  the  problem  of  mortal  life  has 
to  them  found  a  true  solution ;  the  feeling 
of  personal  connection  with  heaven  and 
heavenly  things  by  reason  of  the  family 


90  COMPENSATIONS. 

ties  which  are  extended  there,  —  all  this, 
although  expressed  imperfectly,  and  per- 
haps not  distinctly  perceived,  yet,  as  a 
real  experience,  daily  becoming  more 
familiar  to  the  bereaved  heart,  becomes  a 
compensation  infinitely  precious,  and  may 
teach  us,  if  we  are  willing  to  learn,  that 
it  is  sometimes  better  to  dwell  in  the 
house  of  mourning  than  in  the  house  of 
feasting. 

We  do  not  say  that  it  seems  better,  for 
the  seeming  is  not  always  the  truth.  At 
the  time  when  affliction  is  laid  upon  us, 
we  are  sometimes  too  deeply  troubled  to 
think  soberly  as  we  ought  to  think.  We 
can  see  a  thousand  reasons  why  the  cher- 
ished one  should  live  :  not  one  reason 
■why  he  should  die.  It  may  be  impossible 
at  the  time  to  discern  wherein  we  are  to 
be  the  gainers,  under  the  sense  of  such 


COMPENSATIONS.  91 

real  and  oppressive  loss.  We  are  not 
speaking  now  of  what  may  seem  to  us, 
but  of  what  really  is.  The  Scripture 
itself  does  not  say  that  it  seems  bet- 
ter to  go  to  the  house  of  mourning,  but 
that  it  is  better.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
as  our  own  real  inward  experience,  if  we 
have  had  any  experience  that  can  be  called 
inward,  we  also  may  learn  to  say  that  it 
is  better. 

The  best  part  of  our  experience  is  not 
enjoyment,  but  suffering.  Our  highest 
happiness  comes  not  with  laughter,  but 
through  tears.  There  are  those  who  live 
only  on  the  surface  of  life,  whose  hearts 
strike  no  roots  deeper  than  the  thin  sur- 
face-soil which  every  passing  storm  washes 
or  drives  away,  and  leaves  an  unfruitful 
earthy  clay  beneath  ;  and  such  persons, 
who  live  to  eat  and  drink  and  be  merry. 


92  COMPENSATIONS. 

may  have  no  knowledge,  and  may  desire 
no  knowledge,  of  what  we  are  now  say- 
ing. To  them  the  house  of  mourning  is 
the  house  of  mourning  and  nothing  else. 
They  shun  it  as  a  pestilence,  and  have 
nothing  to  learn  there  which  their  selfish 
and  worldly  nature  is  capable  of  learning. 
Pleasure  and  happiness  are  to  them  words 
of  the  same  meaning  ;  suffering  and  evil 
are  but  the  same  idea.  It  is  not  for 
them,  nor  to  them,  that  we  speak.  We 
speak  to  those  who  have  gone  down  into 
the  depth  of  sorrow,  but  even  there  have 
been  able  to  cry  out  unto  the  living  God. 
We  speak  to  those  who  are  at  least  pre- 
pared to  understand  that  the  baptism  of 
tears  may  be  that  which  fits  us  for  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

We  ask,  therefore,  appealing  to  our  own 
experience  and  to  theirs,  whether  we  can- 


COMPENSATIONS.  93 

not  distinctly  trace  a  great  part  of  what  is 
noblest  and  best  to  what  we  have  suf- 
fered. Plas  it  been  the  prosperity  or  the 
adversity  of  life  which  has  ministered 
most  truly  to  our  manliness  of  thought,  to 
our  love  of  virtue,  to  our  capacity  of  real 
enjoyment  ?  Let  us  take  this  question 
with  us  in  the  retrospect  of  the  last  ten 
years,  for  example,  and  try  the  good  and 
evil  of  life  by  this  practical  test.  Out  of 
that  experience  could  we  now  best  afford 
to  lose  the  working  of  our  joys  or  of  our 
sorrows  ?  Has  pleasure  or  pain  done  the 
most  for  us  ?  Has  the  house  of  mourning 
or  the  house  of  feasting  taught  us  the 
most?  From  what  source  have  our  noblest 
thoughts  come  ?  How  have  the  purest 
affections  been  cultivated  ?  If  we  are 
conscious  that  our  love  of  virtue  is 
stronger   than  it  was,   and    that  we  are 


94  COMPENSATIONS. 

learning  to  live  more  habitually  in  the 
divine  presence 5  have  we  learned  it  in  the 
time  of  vigorous  health,  or  upon  the  bed 
of  sickness  ?  Has  God  ever  seemed  so 
near  to  us  as  in  the  chamber  of  death  ? 
Has  eternity  ever  been  so  real  as  when 
we  have  returned  from  standing  at  the 
open  grave  ?  Could  we  have  known  how 
much  we  loved  those  whom  God  had 
given,  unless  He  had  taken  them  away  ? 
Could  we  love  those  who  are  left  with 
the  same  disinterested,  prayerful,  religious 
affection  that  we  now  feel,  if  we  had  not 
been  taught  to  love  them  for  eternity  as 
well  as  for  the  present  world  ? 

We  think  that  these  questions  lead  us 
to  a  true  answer.  Our  hearts  may  strug- 
gle against  it,  because  of  their  weakness  ; 
but  our  profoundest  experience  teaches 
its  truth.     There  is  almost  no  really  valu- 


C  OMPENS ATIONS  .  95 

able  experience,  almost  no  enduring  and 
real  good,  which  does  not  come  through 
the  ministry  of  pain  and  suffering.  The 
(iross  which  we  bear  is  that  which  raises 
us  to  heaven. 

We  have  seen  a  family  dwelling  under 
the  light  of  unclouded  prosperity,  where 
the  radiance  of  Christian  love  has  also 
been  found.  They  have  rejoiced  together 
in  the  enjoyment  of  God's  gifts,  without 
forgetting  to  thank  him  as  the  giver. 
They  have  understood,  so  far  as  possible, 
the  greatness  of  their  blessings  in  remain- 
ing together  a  whole  family,  and  a  part 
of  their  daily  prayer  has  been  that  they 
might  always  be  spared  the  pain  of  be- 
reavement. It  would  seem  that  they  did 
not  need  the  hand  of  chastisement,  or  the 
discipline  of  suffering,  either  to  confirm 
their  mutual  love,  or  to  bring  them  nearer  to 


96  COMPENSATIONS. 

God.  And  yet,  even  in  a  Christian  family 
like  this,  when  death  has  entered  there,  and 
some  one  of  the  dear  household  has  been 
taken,  if  has  proved  to  be  a  new  revelation 
of  God,  and  of  their  Saviour,  and  of  their 
own  hearts,  to  themselves.  In  all  their 
religion  they  had  not  known  before  how 
completely  man  depends  upon  God.  They 
had  not  known  how  absolutely  essential  to 
the  human  soul  is  the  thought  of  the 
divine  presence.  They  had  not  under- 
stood either  the  words  or  the  character  of 
Jesus.  They  had  not  known  the  depth 
of  their  own  souls,  nor  the  strength  of 
their  own  affections.  That  one  new 
experience  has  made  all  things  new. 
The  spiritual  nature,  although  before 
recognized,  now  first  appears  in  its  true 
dignity,  and  for  the  first  time  they 
thoroughly  understand  that  the  real  use 


COMPENSATIONS.  97 

of  the  present  world  is  to  educate  the 
soul  for  heaven.  They  loved  each  other 
before,  but  new  tenderness  is  now  added 
to  their  love.  Their  kindness  becomes  more 
thoughtful,  their  affection  more  disinter 
ested.  They  feel  their  dependence  upon 
each  other  more  deeply,  and  watch  over 
each  other  with  silent,  inexpressible  love. 

The  fond  union  of  youthful  hearts 
seems  very  close,  and  causes  them  to 
dwell  in  an  elysium  of  joy  ;  but  the 
husband  and  wife  seldom  know  how  much 
they  love  each  other  until  they  mourn 
together,  weeping  for  their  children  be- 
cause they  are  not. 

How  quickly  are  the  little  dissensions 
and  variances  of  life  stilled  by  the  pres- 
ence of  death  !  How  sternly  is  selfish- 
ness rebuked,  and  with  what  yearning  of 
the  heart  towards  Heaven  is  the  resolution 


98  COMPENSATIONS. 

made  to  become  more  tender,  more  affec- 
tionate, more  gentle,  and  more  faithful  in 
the  whole  conduct  of  life  ! 

Such  is  the  natural  influence  of  sorrow 
shared  in  common.  Hearts  which  rejoice 
cannot  come  so  near  to  each  other  as 
hearts  which  grieve.  Tears  mingle  more 
perfectly  than  smiles,  and  the  chain  of 
family  love  on  earth  becomes  much 
stronger  when  some  of  its  links  are  m 
heaven. 

If  this  be  true,  the  house  of  mourning 
may  be  better  than  the  house  of  feasting, 
and  they  who  sow  in  tears  may  reap  in 
joy.  Not  only  as  a  preparation  for  the 
future,  but  even  in  this  world,  our  sum 
of  happiness  may  be  increased  by  sorrow. 
We  do  not  speak  ignorantly  nor  coldly, 
nor  as  those  who  never  felt  the  agony  of 
bereavement.    We  know  what  it  is  to  look 


COMPENSATIONS.  99 

upon  the  dying  child,  and  to  watch  over 
the  parent's  failing  strength.  We  know 
how  deep  the  grave  seems  when  open  to 
receive  those  whom  we  love.  But  we 
also  know  that  in  the  severest  grief  we 
bear,  if  we  hold  to  our  Christian  faith 
and  continue  in  the  performance  of  our 
duty,  we  are  coming  nearer  to  God, 
nearer  to  him  who  suffered  on  the  cross, 
nearer  to  those  who  live,  nearer  to  those 
who  die.  Except  the  grain  of  corn  fall 
into  the  ground  and  die,  it  cannot  spring 
forth  into  life.  And  until  these  poor  human 
hearts  have  been  buried  under  grief,  their 
best  affections  cannot  be  developed  in 
their  divinest  strength. 

It  is  true,  therefore,  that  our  real  hap- 
piness may  become  greater  by  its  seeming 
diminution.  We  say  it  with  hesitation, 
and  almost  with  trembling  ;  yet  it  is  true. 


100  COMPENSATIONS. 

It  is  true,  not  only  as  an  abstract  proposi 
tion,  but  as  a  practical  experience.  Not 
by  the  number  of  our  blessings,  nor  by 
their  greatness,  but  by  our  capacity  of 
enjoying  them,  is  our  daily  happiness  to 
be  measured.  If  you  would  make  men 
contented  with  their  lot,  the  better  plan 
sometimes  is  not  to  increase,  but  to 
diminish  their  store.  They  are  discon- 
tented because  they  have  too  much. 
Take  away  one  half,  and  they  will  learn 
to  enjoy  the  rest  better  'than  they  had 
ever  enjoyed  the  whole.  Cheerfulness  of 
heart  is  often  promoted  by  lessening  the 
outward  sources  of  delight,  and  compel- 
ling the  heart  to  be  the  source  of  cheer- 
fulness to  itself.  If  we  were  required  to 
name,  among  all  whom  we  have  known, 
those  who  have  retained  the  most  perfect 
cheerfulness  and  sweetness  of  temper,  we 


COMPENSATIONS.  101 

should  probably  name  some  whose  lives 
have  been  the  continued  experience  of 
pain  and  suffering.  Let  there  be  Chris- 
tian faith  as  the  foundation,  and  in  almost 
any  given  case,  if  our  object  were  to 
train  a  human  soul  to  habitual  content- 
ment and  cheerfulness,  and  therefore  to 
the  enjoyment  of  life,  the  better  course 
would  be  to  place  it  under  the  discipline, 
not  of  unvaried  prosperity,  but  of  fre- 
quent pain  and  loss,  and  sometimes  of 
severe  suffering  and  bereavement.  It  is 
one  of  the  sublime  mysteries  of  the  soul, 
that  out  of  weakness  we  are  thus  made 
strong,  that  out  of  darkness  springs  forth 
the  light. 

Why,  then,  should  we  shrink  from  sor- 
row as  if  it  were  calamity  ?  Why  should 
the  house  of  mourning  be  to  us  the  house 
of  misery  and  despair  ?     We   know  that 

9» 


102  COMPENSATIONS. 

there  is  an  instinctive  love  of  enjoyment 
and  ease.  Laughter  seems  pleasantest, 
and  joy  is  most  attractive.  It  would  be 
unnatural  and  hypocritical  to  say  that  we 
desire  affliction  ;  and  it  is  right  to  avoid 
sorrow  and  loss  whenever  we  can  do  so  in 
the  strict  performance  of  our  duty.  To 
court  misfortune,  or  foolishly  to  incur 
loss,  would  prevent  the  instruction  which 
should  come  from  the  discipline  of  life. 
The  feeling  that  we  have  done  our  best  to 
avert  calamity  is  needful  to  the  efficacy 
of  the  trial.  And  so  it  is  written  of  the 
Saviour  himself,  that  he  prayed,  "If  it 
be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me  ;  " 
and  then  added,  "If  it  may  not  pass 
from  me  unless  I  drink  it,  thy  will,  not 
mine,  be  done."  But,  to  avoid  sorrow  by 
the  use  of  proper  and  just  means,  and  to 
pray  for  our  deliverance  from  it,  is  a  very 


COMPENSATIONS.  103 

diflferent  thing  from  that  dread  of  sorrow, 
that  shrinking  from  it  as  if  it  were  an 
absolute  evil,  which  is  unchristian  distrust 
in  (jrod.  However  stern  affliction  may 
seem  in  its  first  coming,  it  soon  wears  a 
reconciling  face,  and  whispers  a  benedic- 
tion to  the  believing  heart.  We  may  feel 
the  burden  that  we  bear,  and  for  a  time 
bend  under  its  oppressive  weight,  but  still 
be  daily  learning  the  infinite  truth,  which 
changes  earth  to  heaven,  that  all  things 
work  together  for  the  good  of  those  who 
love  God. 

Of  those  who  love  God.  Let  these 
words  be  observed,  for  they  contain,  not 
only  encouragement,  but  also  warning. 
The  discipline  of  life  is  not  compulsion, 
but  discipline.  Only  to  him  who  asks 
shall  it  be  given.  Prosperity  does  not 
always  harden,  affliction  does  not  always 


104  COMPENSATIONS. 

soften,  the  heart.  The  sorrow  which  God 
sends  is  intended  to  make  us  pure,  to 
exalt,  to  strengthen,  to  ennoble  us.  But 
we  may  turn  it  to  the  gall  of  bitterness, 
and,  instead  of  purifying,  it  may  burn  the 
heart,  and  harden  it  in  selfish  grief. 
There  is  no  possible  discipline  under 
which  we  can  be  compelled  into  goodness. 
Our  work  cannot  be  done  for  us,  and  the 
outward  circumstances  of  life,  whether 
of  joy  or  sorrow,  can  minister  to  the  soul 
only  according  to  our  willingness,  under 
the  grace  of  God,  to  be  instructed.  We 
need,  therefore,  in  the  time  of  prosperity, 
and  before  grief  has  entered  in,  to  recog- 
nize the  love  of  God  in  the  blessings  he 
bestows,  in  order  to  understand  it  in  their 
removal.  Thus  would  our  enjoyment  be 
doubly  blest,  and  the  severest  grief  would 
find  its  consolation. 


COMPENSATIONS.  105 

The  discipline  is  therefore  of  God's 
appointing,  but  its  use,  for  good  or  evil,  is 
our  own.  To-day  we  dwell  in  the  house 
of  feasting  ;  to-morrow,  in  the  house  of 
mourning.  That  is  not  for  us,  but  for 
God,  to  determine.  But,  under  God,  it  is 
for  us  to  say  whether  it  shall  be  better  for 
us,  according  to  the  Scripture,  or  not. 
Sorrow  is  almost  sure  to  come.  We  can- 
not, and  hereafter  we  shall  thank  God 
that  we  cannot,  avoid  it.  Receive  it  as 
the  discipline  of  parental  love,  and  it 
will,  at  the  same  time,  enlarge  the  hap- 
piness of  earth,  and  smooth  the  way  to 
heaven.  The  blessing  upon  those  who 
mourn  is  a  real  benediction,  and  the  alle- 
viations of  sorrow  become  a  heavenly 
compensation. 

Why,  then,  art  thou  cast  down,  0  my 
soul,  and  why  art  thou  disquieted  within 


J.06  COMPENSATIONS. 

me  ?  Hope  thou  in  Grod  ;  for  I  shall  yet 
praise  him  who  is  the  health  of  my  coun- 
tenance and  my  God. 

For  thou  hast  dealt  well  with  thy  ser- 
vant, 0  Lord,  according  to  thy  promise. 
Before  I  was  afflicted  I  went  astray  ;  but 
now  have  I  kept  thy  word.  Thou  art 
good,  and  doest  good  ;  0,  teach  me  thy 
statutes  !  It  is  good  for  me  that  I  have 
been  afflicted,  that  I  might  learn  thy  law 
I  have  seen  an  end  of  all  perfection,  bu 
thy  commandment  is  exceeding  broad. 


